Tuesday, May 25, 2010

With her own neighbors in Hope Gardens going ballistic and the nearby Salemtown association considering joining the opposition to the move of the Downtown Greyhound bus terminal to the northern Gulch area, District 19 council member Gilmore issues the following press release by e-mail a little over an hour ago (the emphasis on the Music City Center's part in this controversy is mine):

Gilmore Supports the Community More Safety and More Transparency

Council Lady Gilmore supports the community-Charlotte Pike should not be a final destination for Greyhound. In an e-mail released two days ago, Holly McCall, who represents the The Convention Center Authority, said "That the Convention Center Authority/MDHA recommended the lease for 13 months" for the Greyhound bus station. The Convention Center Authority is the governing body that made this decision assured Gilmore and constituents via e-mail that the lease is a gap-stop which means that it is a temporary location; and that Charlotte Pike is not the final destination.

The decision made by the Convention Center Authority was based on several factors: 1) it already fits into the allowed zoning for the commercial district,the fact that it already permits the zoning without needing any special variances or special use permits 2) As it was a car dealership, it proved economically efficient to retrofit for the terminal, and it is also close to interstate access, an important feature to Greyhound.

Gilmore believes as Nashville moves forward that transit is an integral part of the city's success and that businesses such as Greyhound should seize the opportunity to provide such a high quality service to citizens so that they can view the business as a part of the solution to the city's needed improvement for transit services, versus a safety hazard. "Unfortunately, because of citizen's perception of the business, they view it as a drain on the city when in fact if both the city and Greyhound would partner, the two could really offer some innovative high quality transportation to the residents of Nashville," said Council Lady Gilmore.

Additionally, Gilmore believes since the government has done such a good job in many areas of keeping the citizens informed, transparency still can be improved upon even when there are not zoning changes required by the Metropolitan Nashville City Council. "We must still find ways to keep our constituency informed with public notices through the various departments and agencies when there are no required zone changes, or special variances. We must get the message to our citizens that they are welcomed-we want their involvement.

Additionally, the different arms of government must work together in a coordinated effort through their City Councilmembers to make sure that citizens remain involved and informed. When permits are pulled for a Councilmember's district, the Councilmember should receive a notice even if it does not require special zoning or variances," said Council Lady Gilmore.

I'll look back through my e-mails but I do not remember receiving anything from the Convention Center Authority on this move. This episode supports public perceptions that Metro government led by the Mayor's Office refuses to be transparent to the community about decisions that affect us.

Any initial thoughts on Ms. Gilmore's support for both the community and the Greyhound terminal?

5 comments:

They all knew that if they gave the neighborhood a heads up, the neighborhood would object. They made an early decison to not notify anyone in the area for fear of the objection. City hall does not care about that neighborhood or any other for that matter, except of course Green Hills.

I would like to thank those of you who have called me or sent me an e-mail in reference to the Greyhound Bus station that will be located on Charlotte Pike.

First, I would like to say that I would never do anything to hurt our community or to jeopardize our safety. However, I find what we sometimes think things are simple when in fact they are never simple.

Yes, I had prior knowledge of the Greyhound bus station going temporarily on Charlotte. It was my understanding that the facility is temporary until the permanent station can be built. Secondly, it is my understanding that the Greyhound station will be unable to remain permanently in the area because of zoning that was provided for the Gulch and that it doesn't fit with the overall plan for the Gulch.

Several questions have been brought to me today that I am working to find answers to them immediately. The first is how long is temporary and the second is where will the permanent location be. Please know that I believe the questions are important to all of us and have sent out an e-mail and that I have called Crossland and Greyhound for this information. Because the location had been changed several times, at first Greyhound said that they were moving to the location temporarily and then they were not, and now they are. It has been a little unclear.

Please know that I will follow up with an e-mail to provide answers to these questions as soon as I have them. Thanks once again to those of you who trust that we are working together and that I am here for you and that I speak on your behalf and would not do anything to harm the community.

Good job North Nashville on electing another corrupt politician who sells you out. If this was to happen to us in East Nasty then you'd get voted out and humiliated. No wait, you'd be recalled!!! Wasn't Erica in the group standing up for Pam Murray? Birds of a feather...

About Me

Been in urban North Nashville for over a decade. Before that I lived in East Nashville. I also lived in near West Nashville for a time. In the past I called Louisville (KY) and Dallas-Fort Worth (TX) home.